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Resident frustrated with immigration backlog By David Lea OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF An Oakville man, who is desperate to see his father move to Canada, is calling on Citizenship and Immigration Canada to speed up the immigration process, which has already dragged out for more than two years and might take another six. Kashif Javed filed a sponsorship application for his father Muhammad, 60, who currently resides in Lahore, Pakistan, in June of 2009. Back then, Javed said the processing time for this type of application was listed at 32 months. The wait time has since gone up to 49 months, which does not count the amount of time Pakistan would need to process the application afterward. "I don't know when this thing is going to happen, when this application is going to be processed," said Javed. "I have enough financial resources that I can afford to care for my father for his whole life. I will never ask the government for a single penny, but nobody seems to be listening." Javed is not the only one wondering about when a parent's immigration application will be processed. Citizenship and Immigration Canada Media Advisor Bill Brown said that as of June 30, 2011, there was a backlog of 168,530 parent and grandparent immigration applications. Brown said that as of the same date there was also a backlog of 59,684 applications for spouses, partners, children and other family members. Immediate family members, he said, have priority over parents and grandparents with spouses, children and partners experiencing significantly shorter wait times. Despite Canada accepting around 254,000 permanent residents each year, more than most countries in the developed world, the backlog in both categories, Brown said, occurs simply because more people apply to enter Canada each year than Citizenship and Immigration are prepared to let in. Canada, on average, receives 436,000 permanent-resident applications per year. For Javed the situation is deeply distressing as he says it was always his intention to bring his parents to Canada. Javed, who is now married with two young children, immigrated to Canada from Pakistan in 2001. Despite having an MBA in Information Systems and an M.Sc Honours in Agriculture, it took Javed a few years to establish himself in Canada, eventually getting a good job with Maple Leaf Consumer Foods in 2005. Being in a solid financial position, ting caught up in something like that," For Javed, any decrease in the wait times would said Javed. be welcome. Javed is calling on the Canadian gov"He is my dad. I love him," said Javed. ernment to take another look at its par"He has been a great figure in my life. I want to ent and grandparent application policies return the favour, I want him close to me," he stating that if they have children who said. can afford to take care of them their applications should be expedited. He also said his father would be of f great help to his family as he would be able to look after Javed's children when he and his wife are at work. Currently the couple relies on after school programs and must take time off f work when one of their children is sick. Brown said Citizenship and Immigration Canada is looking at ways of clearing the parent/grandparent application backlog. "An increase in 2012 admissions, along with a temporary pause on new applications, will facilitate reduction of f the backlog as well as minimize wait times for future applicants," he said. "The planned target for parents and grandparents in 2012 will be set at 25,000, which is the highest for this category in nearly two decades. This decision was made precisely to deal with the backlog of applications in this category." Brown said the government is also introducing the new `Parent and Grandparent Super Visa'. The multiple entry visa, which will be valid for up to 10 years, will allow an December 31, 2011, 6-10 p.m. applicant to remain in Canada for up to Central Park 24 months at a time without the need · Tim Horton's free skate for renewal of their status. *ice capacity regulation in effect. The Parent and Grandparent Super (Time specific wrist bands available for Visa, Brown said, came into effect on Dec. 1, 2011, and Citizenship and all skate times starting at 5:30pm. First Immigration Canada will be able to issue Come, First Served!) the visas, on average, within eight weeks · Cat in the HatTM movie outside at 8 p.m. of the application. · Live music and fireworks at 10 p.m. "This means that instead of waiting for eight years, the current wait time in this category, a parent or a grandparent can come to Canada within eight weeks," said Brown. "Parent and Grandparent Super Visa January 1, 2012, Noon - 4 p.m. applicants will be required to obtain Tansley Woods Community Centre private Canadian healthcare insurance · Tender Choice Foods free skate for their stay in Canada." *pool capacity regulations in effect When asked about Javed's idea of f · Open gym and preschool activities expediting the applications of parents with children who can care for them, · Wii games room Brown said, Citizenship and Immigration Canada is going to engage in consultations and pursue alternatives for better managing application intake and wait times in this program. "During this open consultative process all options will be explored," said Burlington Events Brown. Volunteer | Sponsor | Participate | Attend www.burlington.ca/events "The current parent and grandparent festivalsandevents@burlington.ca program is unsustainable. The tempoEvent Hotline: 905-335-7659 rary pause will prevent the backlog from growing while new policy approaches for the category are examined," said Brown. 37 · Monday, December 26, 2011 OAKVILLE BEAVER · www.insideHALTON.com Big Big N, N, little little n, n, what what begins begins with with N? N? DAVID LEA / OAKVILLE BEAVER WAITING AND WAITING: Kashif Javed is waiting to bring his father Muhammad, 60, here from his native Pakistan. www.burlington.ca/newyears New Year's Eve Javed thought it would be a good time to sponsor his parents' immigration, however, this plan had to be put on hold when he found out his mother, Mussarat, had been diagnosed with kidney disease. "Looking at that scenario it was obvious that if I sponsored my parents, based on the medical grounds, their application would be refused," said Javed. "So I never submitted any application at that time." Sadly, Javed's mother would never recover from her illness and passed away in 2009 at the age of 54. Her passing had a profound impact on Javed, intensifying his determination to bring his father to Canada. "I was in total shock. My parents had always wanted to see my kids, to meet them and they never got a chance to do that," he said. "I want my father to at least meet my kids and have good times with my kids and I want my kids to know what it is like to have a grandfather." While Javed's younger brother currently lives with his father, Javed said each day he worries about what will happen if his father becomes ill or if he falls victim to the economic or political instability that rocks Pakistan from time to time. "There was a bomb blast there the other day and we worry about him get- New Year's Day